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CYCLE ,m a A M@ a fw C United States Patent 3,277,859 END (1F (CYCLE TUNE Vincent 6C. Mandarino, St. Joseph, Mich, assignor to Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 27, 1964, Ser. No. 370,515 Claims. (til. 116-67) This invention relates to improvements in home appliances and the like, and more particularly relates to a device for audibly indicating the end of a cycle by audibly signalling the deceleration of the drive mechanism of a home appliance.

The invention is particularly adaptable to the continuously operating drive mechanism or motor of an automatically cycled machine such as an automatic washing machine or clothes dryer, in which the motor and certain parts of the drive mechanism continuously operate during the program of steps in the cycle of operation of the machine, and stop at the end of the program, and in which an audible signal is given at the end of the cycle of operation of the machine.

In carrying out my invention a drive pulley is internally threaded and mounted on a threaded rotatable drive member and with said threaded drive member forms in effect an eclipse type of clutch. A striker on the drive pulley is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force to strike a bell positioned to be engaged by the striker at the end of the cycle of operation of the machine and moved out of striking association with the bell by movement of the pulley along the threaded drive member, as the machine accelerates.

A principal object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved form of apparatus for audibly signalling the deceleration and subsequent stopping of a drive member for a cyclically operated apparatus, and thereby signalling the end of a washing, drying or other operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of end of cycle signalling device in which a striker for the audible signalling device is moved out of striking association with the signalling device upon acceleration of the drive mechanism for the apparatus and comes into operative association with the signalling device as the apparatus is decelerated.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the casing of a home appliance and illustrating the signalling device of the present invention as applied to the motor shaft of the drive motor for the appliance;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view looking substantially along line IIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detail view indicating the control for the audible indicator of the present invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a detail view showing certain other details of the audible indicator not shown in FIGURE 3.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FIGURE 1 a casing 19 for a home appliance, which may be an automatic washer, dryer or other appliance, and have shown an electric motor 11 of a conventional form, of the type employed for the driving of automatically cycled clothes washing and drying machines through a cycle of operation. The motor 11 includes a shaft 12 having a grooved disk 13 driven thereby and forming a drive pulley for a belt 15, serving as a drive member for the machine.

In accordance with the invention, an audible signalling device, for example, a soft tone bell 16 and a loud tone bell 17 is employed for signalling the deceleration and subsequent stopping of the disk or pulley 13, when the 3,277,859 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 motor 11 is deenergized. The bells 1-6 and 17 are carried at the ends of a rocking frame 19 pivoted intermediate its ends on the upper end of a bracket arm 20, on a pivot pin 21 extending parallel to the axis of rotation of the shaft 12. The bracket arm 20 extends across a support or base 22 for the motor 11, and is shown as being secured thereto as by machine screws 23.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the bracket arm 20 extends outwardly of the base 22 and then angularly upwardly of said base to one side thereof, to position either the bell 16 or the bell 17 in the circumferential path of travel of a striker 25, pivoted on the outer face of the disk 13 on a pivot pin 26.

The bracket arm 19 has an arm 27 extending outwardly therefrom, shown as extending radially of the axis of the pivot pin 21. A Bowden wire or like operator 29 is connected with the outer end of the arm 27 and extends upwardly therefrom along a flexible casing 30, clipped at its lower end to the bracket 20 as by a clip 31, on the end of an arm 32 secured to the underside of the bracket 20 and extending angularly upwardly therefrom. The casing 30 is retained in position at its upper end as by clip 35 suitably mounted on the casing of the machine and guiding the Bowden wire to an arm 36, to which it is connected. The arm 36, as shown in FIG- URE 4, has an intermediate hollow boss portion 37 having a generally cylindrical interior wall 39, flattened at one end, to be engaged by a pivot shaft 40. The shaft 40 is pivotally mounted on a casing 41 for the lever arm 36 and extends through and is suitably journalled in a dial plate 42, mounted on the outside of the casing 10. An indicator lever 43 is suitably secured to the outer end of the shaft 4i). When the lever 43 is in the central position shown in FIGURE 3, the bells 16 and 17 will be positioned out of range of the striker 25. As the lever 43 is moved in a direction which in FIGURE 3 is a counterclockwise direction to the position indicated on the dial plate as a loud position, the Bowden wire 29 will be lowered to bring the lower bell 17 in position to be struck by the striker 25 and sound a loud tone. As lever 43 is moved in an opposite direction to the soft position indicated on the dial plate, the Bowden wire 29 will be raised to bring the upper bell 16 in position to be struck by the striker 25 and sound a soft tone. The cycle tone control as illustrated in FIGURE 3 is preferably located in the control console (not shown) of the appliance, therefore providing ease of selectively of the end-of-cycle tone by the operator.

The indicator arm 43 and the lever arm 36 are held in position by a detent spring 45, herein shown as being of a generally oval form with opposite end tabs 46 abutting each other and suitably mounted in a wall 47 of the easing plate 41. The detent spring 45 engages a detent arm 48 extending from the lever arm 36 radially of the shaft 40 in an opposite direction from the point of connection of the Bowden wire 29 thereto, and tends to close the spring and is held in position by the stored-up energy of said spring as the spring tends to expand. Machine screws 49 extending through wall 47 are threaded into the spring 45 in order to secure the spring 45 to the casing plate 4-1.

Referring now in particular to the means for positioning the striker 25 to strike either of the bells 16 or 17 upon deceleration of the motor 11, a clutching connection is provided between the disk of pulley 13 and the shaft 12, which is herein shown as being in the general form of an eclipse type of clutch, including an externally threaded sleeve 50 keyed or otherwise secured to the motor shaft 12 and driven therefrom. The threads of the threaded sleeve 50 are shown as being double threads of the square type, and terminate at their inner ends into a shoulder 53 formed integrally with a sleeve 50. The inner periphery of the disk or pulley 13 is correspondingly threaded as indicated by reference character 55 and is moved by the threads 51 into engagement with the shoulder 53 upon acceleration of the motor 11, to be positively driven by said motor and to thereby drive the belt 15 and the Washing or drying apparatus.

A snap locking member 57 is mounted on the outer end of the sleeve 50 to limit outward movement of the disk or pulley 13 along said sleeve.

The drag of the belt 15 on the pulley 13, as the drive motor 11 is deenergized and thereby decelerates, tends to hold the pulley 13 from rotation and thereby causes the threads 51 of the threaded sleeve 50 to back the pulley 13 off along the sleeve 50 into engagement with the stop 57. In this position of the pulley 13, as shown by the dotted lines in FIGURE 2, the striker is in alignment with the bells 16 and 17 and is in position to strike either of said bells, provided the lever 43 is in either its loud or soft position, and to thereby audibly indicate the end of a cycle of operation of the machine.

As, however, the drive motor 11 is energized to initiate a washing or drying cycle, the pulley 13 will rapidly move along the sleeve 51 into engagement with the shoulder 53, to be positively driven thereby.

It should here be understood that the acceleration of the motor 11 is very rapid and that this rapid acceleration of the motor together with the double threads of the threaded sleeve 51, move the pulley 13 into engagement with the shoulder 53 with sufficient speed that the striker 25 will not contact either of the bells 16 or 17 as a washing or drying cycle is initiated.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An end of cycle signalling device for home appliances and the like comprising,

a drive motor having a drive shaft,

a threaded sleeve on said shaft,

a pulley threaded on said sleeve,

a belt driven by said pulley,

a shoulder at the inner end of said sleeve,

a stop at the outer end of said sleeve,

the drag of said belt on said pulley effecting movement of said pulley along said sleeve to said step upon the deceleration of said drive shaft relative to said pulley and along said sleeve into engagement with said shoulder to be positively driven therefrom upon acceleration of said drive shaft relative to said pulley,

a striker pivotally mounted on said pulley and centrifugally extended with respect to said pulley upon rotation thereof, and a bell in position to be engaged by said striker upon movement of said pulley against said stop, to audibly signal the end of a cycle.

2. In an audible signalling device,

a motor,

threaded shaft means rotatably driven by said motor,

a driven member threaded on said threaded shaft means for limited rotation relative thereto,

first and second stop means limiting the rotational movement of said driven member relative to said threaded shaft means and defining first and second positions of longitudinal movement of said driven member,

a bell longitudinally spaced from said threaded shaft means, and

a striker yieldably mounted on said driven member,

said driven member movable longitudinally into said first position away from said bell upon acceleration of said shaft means relative to said driven member and movable into said second position to position said striker in striking engagement with said bell upon deceleration of said shaft means relative to said driven member.

3. The signalling device of claim 2 further including a movable supporting member,

means mounting said bell on said supporting member,

and

means for moving said supporting member to move said bell selectively into and out of striking engagement with said striker.

4. The signalling device of claim 3 further including a movable supporting member,

means mounting said bell on said supporting member,

a second bell of differing tone mounted on said supporting member, and

means for moving said supporting member throughout a plurality of positions to enable said bells to be selectively positioned in striking engagement with Said striker.

5. The signalling device of claim 4 in which said sup porting member is a lever which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends for movement about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said threaded shaft means,

wherein said bells are respectively mounted on the opposite ends of said lever, and

wherein a selector means connected to said lever is provided for selecting which bell is to be sounded by said striker.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 586,544 7/1897 Clements 116-158 1,064,525 6/1913 Nichols 116158 1,090,801 3/1914 Sumner 116-60 1,692,518 11/1928 Sotak 116158 2,655,892 10/ 1953 Manecke 11667 2,779,305 1/1957 Dunkelman 1161 12 3,083,681 4/ 1963 Lawrence 11660 3,127,867 4/ 1964 Bochan 11667 LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN END OF CYCLE SIGNALLING DEVICE FOR HOME APPLIANCES AND THE LIKE COMPRISING: A DRIVE MOTOR HAVING A DRIVE SHAFT, A THREADED SLEEVE ON SAID SHAFT, A PULLY THREADED ON SAID SLEEVE, A BELT DRIVEN BY SAID PULLEY, A SHOULDER AT THE INNER END OF SAID SLEEVE, A STOP AT THE OUTER END OF SAID SLEEVE, THE DRAG OF SAID BELT ON SAID PULLEY EFFECTING MOVEMENT OF SAID PULLEY ALONG SAID SLEEVE TO SAID STOP UPON THE DECELERATION OF SAID DRIVE SHAFT RELATIVE TO SAID PULLEY AND ALONG SAID SLEEVE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SHOULDER TO BE POSITIVELY DRIVEN THEREFROMM UPON ACCELERATION OF SAID DRIVE SHAFT RELATIVE TO SAID PULLEY, A STRIKER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID PULLEY AND CENTRIFUGALLY EXTENDED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PULLEY UPON ROTATION THEREOF, AND A BELL IN POSITION TO BE ENGAGED BY SAID STRIKER UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID PULLERY AGAINST SAID STOP, TO AUDIBLY SIGNAL THE END OF A CYCLE. 